Summary: This sermon deals with the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. It helps us not only see the differences, but also helps us see where we should stand in our relationship with God.

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

5having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

8which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

9having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

10that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him.

11In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

12that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

John Calvin was a preacher

who lived back in the first half of the 1500s.

There are said to be 5 major points of Calvinism.

#1 Total depravity. That means that every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin. People are not by nature inclined to love God with their whole heart, mind, or strength, but rather all are inclined to serve their own interests

#2 Unconditional Election. That means that God has already determine who will be saved and who will be lost. It’s a theology that is sometimes called “Predestination” or “Election”. In other words, God is able to bring to salvation all whom He intends to save.

#3 Limited Atonement. This means that the atonement through the blood of Jesus is limited in the sense that it is designed for some and not all.

#4 Irresistable grace. This means the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (that is, the elect) and, in God’s timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith. When God sovereignly purposes to save someone, that individual certainly will be saved.

#5 Perseverance of the saints. This means that since God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end. This is sometime referred to as “eternal security”.